{
  "id": 19292103,
  "title": "Abu Dhabi's unlikely teammates: How bankers, cabin crew and newcomers bond over football and padel",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/10/abu-dhabis-unlikely-teammates-how-bankers-cabin-crew-and-newcomers",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-11-10T05:15:51.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Gulf News",
    "slug": "gulf-news",
    "url": "https://gulfnews.com/lifestyle/abu-dhabis-unlikely-teammates-how-bankers-cabin-crew-and-newcomers-bond-over-football-and-padel-2-1.500741984"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Abu Dhabi may seem like an unlikely place to find friends, but for many newcomers, the city has become a hub for forging connections through sports. It all starts with a shared love of football or padel, as Nilanjan Dutta discovered when he started a football group called \"Let's Football.\" The group has grown to include expatriates from various industries, all coming together to play for recreation, not competition.\n\nFor some, the game provides a welcome escape from sedentary office jobs. Abhijit Saha, a VP at Emirates Development Bank, notes that most of the people in Abu Dhabi have sedentary jobs, so playing football helps them stay active. The games are informal, taking place on weekends and sometimes on weekdays, with everyone settling up after the final whistle.\n\nCabin crew member Krasen Tenev finds the games relaxing and a better workout than the gym. He drives specifically for the games, as he isn't a stranger to community sport. Similarly, Dr. Mohamed Osama Omar Abdelrahman, who has always played football since college, joins in the different games organized by the community.\n\nNewcomers like Sam Speed, who moved to Abu Dhabi in May 2024, have found that a friendly game of football or padel is a great way to connect with others. They didn't know anyone in Abu Dhabi, so joining a group provided a sense of belonging. Another newcomer, Sesegma Kadado, joined the group with friends from another sport and then kept turning up on her own, making new friends along the way.\n\nPatton, who took the traditional expat route of asking around the office, credits the ADSN WhatsApp group with helping him make a great group of friends. He looks forward to playing each week and believes most of the friends made in Abu Dhabi came through this community.\n\nThe age range of participants in these sports groups highlights that the desire to stay active and engaged is not limited to young expats. Many of the players have been playing football since their college days and see it as a source of joy and fitness that has stood the test of time.",
  "summary": "The road to finding friends in a new city is jagged, and perhaps a little zigzag. Sometimes you change course midway, or maybe the road branches out into several paths and there’s a friend waiting for you at the end of it. Possibly, near a football pitch, a badminton or a padel court. For the love of the game and friendship A photo shared by Nilanjan Dutta: A glimpse of the after-work games. It’s…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}